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FamilySearch Has a New Project for Genealogists

FamilySearch is a popular genealogy website. Volunteers have completed the indexing of the names in the 1940 United States Census. Now, FamilySearch is getting ready to embark upon their next project. They would like you to help!

FamilySearch is the genealogy website that is provided as a service by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The website is free to use, and you do not have to be Mormon in order to use it.

Genealogists might be aware that there have been many volunteers working with FamilySearch in order to index the names from the United States 1940 Census. It has been a huge project!

That giant project has come to an end. FamilySearch posted a blog on their website on August 3, 2012. The blog post was called “1940 Census Index Project Report – 7 More States Coming!” Part of the blog states:

“We have indeed finished all the indexing and arbitration of the 1940 US Census. The remaining few weeks will be used to finish the processing tasks that have to be done to make the indexes as accurate as possible and completely searchable. The folks at Church headquarters are hard at work getting these tasks done as quickly as possible.”

Genealogists who missed out on their chance to do some indexing, or who were indexers and would like to continue helping FamilySearch, have a new opportunity. FamilySearch is going to be changing projects. They would like you to join in their new initiative that is called the “US Immigration and Naturalization Community Project”.

The project, as you may have guessed, includes immigration and naturalization records, (instead of data from the 1940 United States Census). These records do not look the same as the census records did. Some are federal forms. Some are forms that were used by a particular city. Others might be forms used at a certain port. Slightly different information may appear on one version of these types of records than what appears on another version, (that was used at a different location).

Genealogists who are interested in helping FamilySearch to tackle this enormous project can find out how to get started at the FamilySearch blog. You will find images of some types of immigration and naturalization records and links to more information that will teach you how to help with this project. There is also a Facebook page you can join, called “FamilySearch Indexing” that can give you some advice.